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I think part of the incompetence has to do with what talented engineers want to work on. Most of us here on HN would never dream of writing mundane business log
by michael_miller 14y ago
I think part of the incompetence has to do with what talented engineers want to work on. Most of us here on HN would never dream of writing mundane business logic software for a bank. Why would we, when we could be working on much more interesting problems, while earning a lot more money, working in a much more stimulating environment? This leaves mediocre programmers who can't get jobs at {Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, Startup X}. Talent goes where the money is, and the money is not in writing a bank web service.
- reissbaker 14y agothe money is not in writing a bank web service This is the real issue. Banks can certainly afford to hire qualified engineers; Santander apparently chooses not to.
- chii 14y ago> Santander apparently chooses not to. because their customers chose not to care (at least, until shit hits the fan). A bank (or any conservative organization) will only really react, as it is too slow to become proactive (otherwise, it'd be by definition, no longer conservative! ala, google, facebook etc).
- PeterisP 14y agoBecause regulators don't do their job. Private customers shouldn't be responsible for auditing their bank - instead, regulators should enforce fines for banking privacy and security breaches that are an order of magnitude greater than the cost of implementing the systems securely. The banking rules should be so that even an immoral Scrooge would see proper security as the cheaper, cost-efficient way compared to screwing their customers with shoddy systems. If a bank teller violates financial privacy by leaking his customer's transaction lists, it carries criminal penalties in many countries. Why should a manager who intentionally violates banking privacy of thousands of customers face less prosecution?